What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision - Industry insider

iPhone Wars: O2 vs Orange

Joe Cox — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:23:00 GMT

O2's exclusive contract with Apple for the iPhone is coming to an end in a little over a week, with Orange set to be the second provider available from November 10th. Vodafone will be joining the party in 'early 2010', so it's no surprise that punters are rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of an imminent price war.

However, a first look at the tariffs revealed by Orange doesn't suggest a shake-up particularly soon. In fact, were you to want an iPhone 16GB S, with 600 minutes and 500 texts a month, the total cost including the handset for a 24 month contract would see a whopping 11p difference in price between the two providers. Congratulations Orange on slashing those prices.

Elsewhere you'll find a penny here and a penny there when it comes to comparing tariffs – take a look at O2's contracts here and Orange's offerings here – but it's clear that anybody put-off by the cost of the iPhone won't now be readying their tent to join the queue outside their nearest Orange store come November 10th.

No, it seems Orange is simply counting on the growing discontent with O2's general service in order to get people signing-up for Orange iPhones. The much-maligned O2 3G coverage shows no immediate signs of improvement despite O2's promises to the contrary, while Orange claims it has a "a 3G mobile broadband network that covers more people in the UK than any other operator".

Earlier this year Ofcom released maps showing 3G coverage offered by the rival providers. There are a number of disclaimers regarding the information, and as Ofcom itself states it's not to be taken as a given – otherwise it would seem Orange users in Wales would be best served living a few miles out to sea – but they give an indication as to why people might be tempted to try Orange if they haven't yet signed-up for the O2 iPhone. Maybe we will have to wait for Vodafone for a price war to really start in earnest...

O2 3G coverage:

Orange 3G coverage:

Ofcom disclaimer: These 3G coverage maps by mobile operator were prepared in January 2009. They represent the area where we have assessed the mobile operators met a minimum coverage threshold set by Ofcom (see technical notes below). The shaded areas on the maps indicate areas where customers have the possibility of making and receiving a call outside over a 3G network (but with no guarantee of being able to do so). They do not indicate areas where customers are able to access higher data rate services.

CEATEC 2009: Panasonic's 3D seminar lacks depth but comes up with all the standard answers

Andrew Everard — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:22:00 GMT

(Caution: the following may cause dizziness)

Like it or not, 3D TV is coming, and soon. The CEATEC 2009 show has 3D firmly on the front-burner – a burner 30% more energy efficient than last year's, of course... – with even those companies not building their stands around it having a 3D demo somewhere to be found.

Sony's and Panasonic's 3D technologies dominate their stands, Sharp has a booth with a 60in LED-lit LCD screen showing 3D, and even Toshiba and Hitachi, majoring on other TV technologies, have 3D snaffled away somewhere.

But it's Sony and Panasonic making the running here, and while the former is presenting 3D as – well, let's be frank – just about all it has to offer, judging from its stand, Panasonic is bullish enough to have organised a 3D seminar on the opening afternoon of the show, in which a selected group of journalists were able to hear the company's latest thinking on the subject.

Of course, it helps if you supply your own journalists, and that's just what Panasonic did, bringing the great and the good of consumer electronics journalism on an all-expenses-paid trip to the show, in order to explain the deep technology of its proposed 3D format, which of course it would like to see adopted as the worldwide standard.

The world's press
The great and the good? Newspaper journalists from Europe, America, Asia and Oceana, all kinds of people writing for 'tech' websites you've probably never heard of, and few British scribblers. Unfortunately the writer for Grand Designs magazine missed the seminar – not due in until a later flight, you see.

And of course, our invitation got lost in the post again, just as it did last year, when Panasonic had some people from Which? along for the ride. Yes, I was surprised, too...

Anyway, all of the above explains how, in a scene almost worthy of John Le Carre, I was standing admiring the Nissan robots yesterday afternoon – this year they've gone beyond not bumping into each other, and can now travel around like a school of fish – when I was approached by a Panasonic UK PR person.

Contact is made
It wasn't quite "We've been expecting you, Mr Bond", more "We've been looking for you – there's a 3D seminar at 4pm and we think you should be there".

Oh well, it happened to be in the hotel in which I was staying, and thus effectively 'on the way home', so at 4pm there I was.

OK, so it may have been 4.01pm, because in the best manner of Panasonic press trips – I was once on one for five days and received a 12-page itinerary – things were running to military precision of timing, and the ride was already in motion.

And quite a ride it was, too.

Masayuki Kozuka, General Manager of the company's storage devices business strategy office, laid out the groundwork as to why Panasonic's version of the 3D standard was the way forward for 3D TV at home.

He told us how the Panasonic standard keeps Full HD quality, unlike some other 3D versions being batted around, how Panasonic's authoring operation is in Hollywood, at the heart of the movie industry, and how it produced Kill Bill among other Blu-ray releases, and is working with influential Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli on its next BD releases.

And yes, its 103in screens are use in Hollywood for checking releases, and yes, it's been working with James Cameron on his Avatar movie – just in case there was anyone left in the world who wasn't aware of the fact.

Next up to the plate, Hiroshi Miyai, director of Panasonic's High Quality AV Development Centre. No messing about for Miyai-san: he's straight out of the trap with the three advantages of the Panasonic 3D system.

One, plasma displays true 3D picture quality; two, the company offers an end to end solution, from the cameras needed to shoot the content to the systems to play it at home; and three, standardisation is good for consumers.

Reducing the afterglow
By now we were into (slightly) technical stuff about new screen phosphors with a third of the afterglow, and thus better response time, and faster extinction times on the active glasses required to view the 3D material, but I found myself writing just one thing in my notes:

'It's the beginning of another format war' is what I wrote, and I speak from experience, having been at similar Panasonic events right back to the days when it wanted us to buy VHS-C camcorders rather than the 8mm tape rivals such as Sony were promoting.

This was beginning to feel like just the same kind of exercise – the winning of hearts and minds.

Anyway, on to the questions and answers, and the people from the websites with names like Techlicious, Gadgtastic and 3D Expert were bristling to get their moment in the spotlight, putting their hands up and announcing themselves as being 'whoever, DVDGuru', and so on.

Meanwhile the journalists from the world's nationals wanted to show just how much insight they had into this entire consumer electronics market thing. Hint: not much, as it turned out, and the guys from Panasonic HQ in Osaka weren't going to give them more, staying relentlessly 'on message'.

More questions than answers
So for an hour we went through endless questions, none of which really got answered.

How big will the initial screens be? Interesting question, though they might have taken a clue from the fact the Panasonic stand was dripping with 50in 3D plasmas, but "We are looking at the volume zone for the home – we propose 50in, but will be looking at other sizes."

How much will the 3D TVs cost? "We are targeting family use, so within the range price considerations will be given – they won't be that expensive."

Can existing Blu-ray machines be modified for 3D? We didn't really get an answer to that one.

How long can one watch 3D with the special glasses without eye-strain? "The viewing time upper ceiling is the same as a movie in a theatre – around two to three hours."

At this, one of the US journalists got rather over-excited: "Are you suggesting that after two to three hours eye damage will occur?" he asked.

No, that's not really what we said, was the answer, and I think the response to his later "I feel I must clarify..." was along the lines that no, your head won't explode either.

Probably.

OK, back to the prosaic: how much will the special glasses be? "About 10% of the price of the TV for four pairs of glasses, so about 5000yen for one pair, 20,000yen for four pairs."

At current shuddersome yen rates – I know, I just paid for dinner – that's about £35 for a pair of goggs, or £140 for the family pack.

Hmmm – do the maths and that seems to mean they're talking £1400 for the TV, but maybe that's just my mind running away with me...

Anyway, at last a concrete answer, but then "But those prices are the result of market research, not a commercialisation."

Oh, right...

What we found out is that the glasses will be made by Panasonic, and that they'll be bundled with the TVs, or at least one pair and maybe more will be, and that they'll be powered by coin-type batteries good for about 100 hours' viewing, which may or not be rechargeable, but "we have just announced the technology so wouldn't want to answer that question."

And can you use other company's glasses with Panasonic's screens? In other words, will the standard be a standard? "We haven't confirmed details, so cannot comment yet. We just announced the details, so regarding commercialisation we can't confirm details."

Projectors? Maybe not...
What about projector systems? Or indeed glassless 3D? Will that be the next stage? Here we got lost in some discussion of rear-projection TVs, before getting back on track with home cinema projectors. These kind of got dismissed due to problems with focus, screen quality and viewing angles, with the statement that "plasma is self-illuminating, and a reality.

"Projection is fine for cinema, but home projector quality is reduced, so not suitable."

Anyone spotting a theme developing here?

Glassless systems apparently "require one hundred times the resolution of our system using plasma, so they're not feasible – that's our view".

That comment may not please Panasonic president Fumio Ohtsubo too much: earlier in the day, he'd told a round-table discussion with the company's guest journalists that "In the beginning you will need glasses. In the future you shouldn't need them. That is the challenge we have presented to our engineers, and we are always challenging them."

A format war in the offing?
I tried asking whether the lesson we should take from this briefing was that Panasonic was determined that its standard should become the standard, and whether the company would launch product if there were still competing standards when it was ready to start selling. The response involved the HDMI v1.4 standard, and the Extended Standard still being worked on by the Blu-ray Disc Association, but didn't really answer the question.

45 minutes in, and a Japanese journalist slips into the vacant seat beside me. "What time did it start?" she asks, and when I tell her she opens a pack of pretzel sticks, munches through them with some determination, and watches news of the impending typhoon on her mobile phone.

Will a whole movie fit onto one disc? The answer is sort of 'depends on the movie', and what extras the studio wants to include. "For short pictures, such as animation, it should be fine, but we're not sure anyone wants to watch an avatar for much longer than that."

Paging Mr Cameron, paging Mr Cameron...

Actually, it sounds like 3.5 hours of 3D will fit on a current disc, and we also learn that 3D discs will be compatible with standard TVs – the player will just send the telly the left eye image. But no comment on whether 3D discs will be playable on current BD machines, albeit only in 2D.

And then we're back on the safety aspects of watching 3D through flickering LCD shutters, and whether safety guidelines would be issued: "The International Standards Organisation is looking into it, but this may take two or three years. Some 'seasick' effects have been reported."

Clearly they talked to my wife after the demonstration at last year's CEATEC: it wasn't quite 'head between the knees and deep breaths' stuff, but a restorative Kirin or three was required...

Left, right...
And a question from New Zealand? "There have been reports that watching 3D TV stimulates both the left and right sides of the brain – has there been any research into this?"

Long pause, a request for clarification of the slightly bizarre question, and then a strangely blunt "We are not aware, so we would like to be silent on that, and refrain from making comments."

So there we have it. Time was called, and the ladies with flags ushered the Panasonic captive hordes back to their buses for the ride into Tokyo. I headed for the hotel bar to do a bit of head-shaking, and try to make some sense of my notes over a cold drink.

More than 24 hours later, reading the notes again, I'm not sure I can make any more sense of them, but I can say one thing for sure: whoever you were, late-arriving journalist from Grand Designs magazine, you didn't miss much...

Incredibly, more on last week's amazing Apple launch

Andrew Everard — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:05:00 GMT

Just in case you think I went a bit OTT when I asked whether last week's Apple launch was more hype than hardware, click the pic...

BDA Taskforce is go!

Richard Melville — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:56:00 GMT

During our trip to Europe's biggest consumer electronics show (IFA) last week, we had a chance to listen to the latest developments in the Blu-ray market with representatives from Disney, Sony and Amazon all present.

Together, they head the BDA – Blu-ray Disc Association – or 'BD Taskforce' which they sometimes called themselves. Sounds a bit Team America to us, but these are the key facts that we pulled out as they spoke about Blu-ray in 2009.

We should also point out the event was chaired by Victor Matsuda (above) global promotions committee chair of the BDA.

By the end of the year, 150 different players will be available to buy in Europe
62% of all BD movies are on 50GB discs, rather than 25GB discs. 100GB discs expected next year.
BD to account for 33% of film market in 2012, BDA research shows, but DVD stil dominant at 45%. They reckon online and mobile video will account for 9% and 4% respectively.
Europe's first £80 BD player expected at Christmas, though there's no mention of who will make it.
2011 is the date standalone players are expected to outstrip those of PlayStation 3 – though since IFA, PS3 sales have rocketed thanks the PS3 Slim and the recent price cut...
50GB is enough space to house a 3D film, though extras will need an extra disc
Amazon says the key to BD success is new content on disc, over DVD to justify price premium - though the DVD vs BD price premium is expected to fall to below 25% by Christmas. So if your DVD costs £14, a BD version should be around £18.
3D Blu-ray discs will carry 2D versions of the film, suggests Matsuda

To add to the BDA's dreams of a Blu Christmas, the British Video Association today announced plans for a £1m marketing push for the format in the run up to the festive season, based on the big movie releases due.

The Apple Launch: was that it?

Andrew Everard — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:56:00 GMT

I suppose by now I should be used to every utterance from the people in the Infinite Loop being hailed as the Second Coming. But even by the usual standards of a lot of hoopla about not very much, Apple's latest world-shaking announcements of last night had rather more spin than substance.

The rumour-mill had been grinding away about iTablets, new iPod Touches and The Beatles pulling off the hat-trick of the launch of the Remasters series, the arrival of their video game and a debut in iTunes.

Surely the timing of the Apple announcement, streamed around the world, couldn't just be a coincidence?

And when Steve Jobs appeared to lead proceedings, the online gadge-bloggers went into almost Messianic raptures – 'It's Steve Jobs' purred one, with a kind of hushed 'The Master lives!' tone probably not heard for the past 1970 years. Give or take.

Trouble is, the trademark black turtleneck couldn't do much to disguise an element of the emperor's new clothes about the whole shebang.

The chap next to our blogging team, summoned to a converted brewery to witness by proxy the announcements being made in California, was asleep for most of the event – and it seems he didn't miss much.

iTunes 9? Hmmm... The home sharing thing could be handy for those without network storage, I guess, and with my Gramophone hat on the iLP feature, enabling extended sleevenotes and the like to be stored with albums, looks appealing.

But guess what? iLP only works with stuff bought from iTunes – not with discs you have ripped. Of course it doesn't. Silly me.

The new iPods? Well, a doubling of storage size for a new Touch model will be useful for fanatical users, but hardly causes the world to wobble on its axis.

And the 'nano with a cam'? Might appeal to some, I guess, and the fact it doesn't add to the price means it's a no-pain addition, but doesn't anyone who wants to shoot video on the move have a cameraphone these days?

What's more, for all the claims about simple YouTube uploads, the thing has no onboard communications, unlike a cameraphone, and still needs to be hooked up to a computer to send your latest videos out into the ether.

Maybe it's just Apple further segmenting its market; perhaps it's all about appealing to the pre-teens. Could explain those new colours, too.

But then in Appleworld, the sort of thing about which most companies would send out a press release is worthy of a global broadcast. And moreover one to which only the select few should consider themselves lucky to have been invited.

Pity really, because when Apple does launch something able to reinvent the world – or at least something able to take what someone else is doing and make it smaller, sleeker, and marketed to the point of desirability –, it can put on a good show.

Yesterday's event simply had an element of the boy who cried wolf about it.

And I ask you – Norah Jones...?

Not 'only rock and roll'; not even rock and roll...

LG and Samsung prosper in LCD boom-time

Andrew Everard — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:19:00 GMT

LED backlights, emerging markets and eco-considerations are fuelling a boom-time for Korea's leaders of the global LCD TV market.

LG expects a near-50% increase in its sales next year, while Samsung says it's on course to sell two million LED-backlit TVs this year, and five times as many in 2010.

Last year LG sold 10.5m LCD TVs, but Simon Kang, head of the company's home entertainment unit, told a meeting last week he expects that to rise to 17m this year, and 25m in 2010. Indeed, Kang says the company could have sold even more this year were it not for a worldwide shortage of LCD panels.

The BRIC effect
Its sales for the second quarter of this year were 3.5m sets, 20% up on the number it sold in the period between January and March. Most of that growth came from sales in emerging markets, notably the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China.

An Indian business paper reports on LG's local sales boom

And Kang expects that while developed markets may only see sales growing by a couple of percentage points next year, countries such as the BRIC group are expected to show double-digit percentage growth.

But LG doesn't think plasma TVs are going away any time soon; last year it sold 2.2m sets worldwide, this year it expects to ship 3m, and next year should sell 4m.

Meanwhile rival Samsung is also enjoying a sales boom, having sold 5.7m LCD TVs in April-June this year, up from 5.1m in the first quarter. It expects to sell 22m sets by the end of this year.

LED backlighting is growing
Part of that success is down to LCD TVs with LED backlights, the 2m Samsung expects to ship this year accounting for almost half of the 4.5m total market.

The 'LED' market has grown tenfold since last year, helped by improved picture quality, slimmer designs and eco-considerations. LED-lit LCD TVs eliminate the hazardous materials found in conventional LCDs' lighting tubes, and have lower energy consumption.

By 2013 it's expected almost 100m LED-lit sets will be sold, accounting for 42.5% of the expected total LCD market, according to industry analysts iSuppli.

The worldwide LCD TV market grew by over 14% from the first to second quarters of this year, with 30.7m sets sold. The top five companies in the sector are market-leader Samsung, then LG, followed by Sharp, Sony and Philips.

3D at home: look out, there's a monster coming…

Andrew Everard — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 09:11:00 GMT

So, the 2009 IFA show has been awash with 3D demonstrations from big names including LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony.

The Blu-ray Disc Association is promising 3D standards will be set by the end of the year.

And some of the big movers and shakers are promising we'll start seeing 3D TV systems in British homes next year.

Excited yet? It seems you should be: we're told 3D TV at home is going to be the Next Big Thing. Flat, it seems, is so noughties; the 2010s are going to jump out of the screen at us.

But there's a bigger picture behind all this, and it has rather more depth than you might initially imagine.

Half a century ago, the movie studios and cinema chains got together to try to stave off the growth of television and woo us back into going to the pictures, bringing us everything from 3D and CinemaScope to Smell-0-Vision and Sensurround.

The recent return of 3D to the cinema, and its impending arrival in our front rooms, is also about money; it's to do with addressing declining revenues.

Pressure on prices
You see, the big names of consumer electronics reckon we're not paying enough for our latest shiny gadgets. The price of LCD TVs is falling by 20% each year, even though demand from China is creating a shortage of LCD display panels, and thus record high prices.

As I commented here, £135 ex-factory for a 32in panel, but well under £300 for a completed TV, doesn't make sound economic sense in anyone's book. And as those TV prices fall by a fifth every year, the LCD panel price just went up 20% in a month.

What's more, the Blu-ray Disc Association is saying that we'll soon be seeing player prices fall well below the £100 mark – that's good for consumer uptake, but not so great for manufacturers' revenue streams.

After all, once consumers understand that £80 is what you pay for a Blu-ray player, and £269 the going rate for a 32in LCD TV, persuading them to pay any more for a premium product is something of a hard sell. Ask Pioneer…

Product differentiation
That's not to say the manufacturers haven't been trying their hardest to set their premium products apart from the budget stuff at the bottom end of the mass-market: think larger screens, thinner screens, internet-capable screens, LED-lit screens and so on.

But given that all flat TVs look much the same to many consumers – a flatscreen is a flatscreen is a flatscreen, and many still refer to LCDs as 'plasmas' – it really is tough to get mass-market consumers to spend more.

Oh, and the movie companies have the same problem: Blu-ray may have been launched as a premium product, set above DVD, but as the format gains momentum so prices are tumbling, and it's not hard to pick up titles online for well under a tenner.

And the DVD movie? Once the premium product, it's now something you throw in the trolley during the weekly shop, or even get free with your weekend newspaper.

3D: the new revenue stream
Hence 3D. Just as the studios and cinema chains have found it possible to charge premium prices for seats for 3D movies, so they have every intention of boosting their margins by launching titles on 3D Blu-ray at top prices.

(As an aside, did you know there's another reason why the studios like 3D for cinema releases? Bit trickier to knock off a pirate version using covert camcorders in the auditorium when the on-screen picture is a fuzzy blur of two overlaid images.)

In the hardware world, 3D at home could be next big bonanza, or at least so the big names hope. Now they've taken us from CRT to flatscreen, from HD ready to Full HD, and from VHS to DVD to Blu-ray, the mere fact of better picture quality is running out of steam as a 'must have' proposition.

New player, new TV
3D, however, will require a new player and a new TV: after all, the player will have to deliver twin 1080p picture-streams, and the TV show twice as much information as it does now, if 3D isn't to be at the expense of lower overall picture quality.

And you can be sure those 3D products are going to sit at the top of the manufacturer's price-ranges, just as 3D Blu-rays will be pitched above the regular editions.

Yes, there's the reassurance that the new players will be back-compatible, allowing conventional 'flat' BD titles to be played, and 3D titles to be played in 2D, unless the disc mandates that it will only play in 3D, but there's no mention of the new discs being compatible with old players.

So we may well see titles getting exclusive releases in 3D to keep the early adopters and enthusiasts happy, perhaps with added content, and then appearing in 2D versions a little later. If you don't buy the 3D version, you may be made to feel like a bit of a pauper.

Let's not get carried away, chaps...
However, let's hope that the electronics companies and content providers don't get carried away with the whole 3D thing, and think that entire back catalogues can be tweaked up with a bit of depth and the odd pop-out computer graphic.

We've seen the beginnings of this with a demonstration I had last year in Korea of a chunk of Pearl Harbor processed into 3D, and there are already rumblings of Pixar, Lucasfilm and others 're-imagining' classic movies such as the Toy Story and Star Wars series into 3D.

They should pay heed to the controversy still surrounding the 'colourising' of content originally shot and screened in black and white. The early attempts, notoriously by the TNT movie channel, and the cost of the process, eventually led tycoon Ted Turner to abandon his plan to rework the extensive movie libraries he'd acquired into colour.

And yet it still goes on: last night I caught the start of Discovery HD's WWII in Colour and HD, its latest attempt at repackaging the archive film at the heart of much of its historical output.

Much heralded, it was packed with swimmy colours, fuzzy edges and aircraft looking like they'd come from the lid of an Airfix box. Only brighter.

To be frank, I started to watch it because I thought I should see what the quality was like. I gave up after a few minutes – the picture quality was pretty hard on the eyes.

I'm sure 3D done properly won't be like that when we're sitting at home watching through our special alternate shutter glasses – but I do fear the need to feed the 3D monster once it's unleashed will mean as much bad content as good...

IFA, Berlin: Sony talks eco issues

Richard Melville — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:21:00 GMT

Today we're in Berlin, at Europe's biggest consumer electronics show, IFA. Surrounded by thousands of TVs, Blu-ray players and hi-fi systems, it's the perfect place to talk about eco issues and how technology affects climate change.

To kickstart the conversation, we discussed all things eco with President of Sony Europe Fujio Nishida (above, left) and two staff dedicated to managing the company's eco strategy. Thomas Fischer (above, right) is General Manager of Environmental Affairs and Mats Pellback Scharp is Head of Sustainability at Sony Ericsson.

Sony has never been shy of flashing eco credentials and while it doesn't bang the drum as much as, say, Sharp does with its recently unveiled 'eco world-champion' message, there's lots going on behind closed doors.

In January, Sony's CEO, President and Chairman Sir Howard Stringer said he hoped all Sony products would use 50% less power in just a few years, and felt confident the company could make good on that promise. Today, it looks like things are progressing well.

Helping customers understand eco
With the message that technology should be part of a climate change solution, rather than the problem, Sony's keen to stress eco credentials from packaging to power use to recycling options and plans. "When a customer goes into a store, we want them to understand eco – then they'll feel good about buying an eco product," says Nishida.

"It's our responsibility to tell them and explain," he adds, before discussing the need to inform the public about Sony's plans, rather than shouting about eco as a USP.

The ideal scenario for Sony, explains Fischer, is to get customer information and contact details so it can manage the product through every stage of its life in terms of maintanance, repair and – importantly – where the product goes after it reaches the end of its useful life.

On-screen instruction manuals
Nishida points out that key developments in products mean that consumer demand is always high with new features appearing on TVs every six months: "I like my TV but in six months I see one with new features," he says, before Fischer explains how on-screen TV instruction manuals have reduced packaging and paper costs considerably over the last year.

Fischer also says that options such as solar panels are always considered for portable products like Sony's GreenHeart phones, but that the impact of actually making them is possibly a false economy. He doesn't rule out the use of them but explains that they need to be used by enough devices over time to be beneficial in terms of the environment.

Eco ratings
Other topics up for debate include using governments to spread the eco message by creating eco classifications or ratings on products, so consumers can not only see eco benefits but also make a judgement of saving money on products that consume less power.

It seems that, in current times, saving cash by reducing bills is very much on the agenda but, Nishida agrees, it's the job of the press as well as retailers to spread the message.

The goverment message will become clearer in December, however, when COP15, the UN Climate Change Conference kicks off in Copenhagen.

We'll be there of course and will bring you all the news and developments as they happen...

Don't be scared, Sony make.believe

Andrew Everard — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:28:00 GMT

Sometimes you have moments when you just shake your head and wonder 'what were they thinking?'.

Had one such yesterday afternoon when Sony unveiled its new 'Group-wide brand message' at the IFA show in Germany, and in so doing gifted sub-editors and headline-writers worldwide with everything they could ever want next time something goes awry in the Sony empire.

Yes, replacing 'like.no.other' – pronounced 'like dot no dot other', as Sony helpfully told us at the time – is the new slogan 'make.believe'. And yes, the press release tells us, it's 'make dot believe'.

According to Sony Chairman, CEO and President Sir Howard Stringer, seen left announcing the change in Berlin yesterday:

"In addition to reigniting the innovative spirit of our employees and our products, make.believe will differentiate us from countless competitors and inspire consumers around the world to embrace all that is Sony."

In case all that isn't clear, the corporate PR tells us that "‘Believe’ is the power of inspiration and ‘make’ is about crafting inspiration into products and experiences for our consumers.

"The ‘dot’ is the place where they meet – and where magic happens!"

In other words, just a few weeks after the death of one of its music division's leading artists, some slick brand-engineering team deep at the heart of Sony has succeeded in creating a Disneyfication of the brand of which he would have been proud.

Or as someone in the office said on hearing the news yesterday, "Bucks Fizz must already be looking forward to the royalty cheques."

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised: after all, the company once characterised itself – though fortunately only in Japan – with the slogan 'Digital Dream Kids'.

But I can't help thinking we've come a very long way since one simple, confident statement explained everything to consumers.

Back then, we didn't need to indulge in 'make dot believe'.

Not so long ago, 'It's a Sony' told the whole story.

JAPAN: the PS3 grows up with on-demand adult movies in HD

Andrew Everard — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:28:00 GMT

For those of you who thought the killer app for the PS3 was being able to play with others online, a Japanese company is now catering for more solitary pleasures with the launch of a streaming service offering on-demand HD adult movies.

DMM.tv works by loading software into an internet-connected Sony console using a Blu-ray Disc the company will send out free of charge, and then it's just a matter of setting up an account and browsing or searching for the title or genre you require.

Any time you feel the need, you just load up the disc, and follow the menus to stream whatever you want, or download it for your later viewing pleasure.

Kind of reminds me of a conversation I once had with the head of the home entertainment division of one of the Japanese majors around the time of the launch of DVD. He told me, after cold drinks had been taken, that much of the success of the then new format would depend on how quickly the adult movie industry adopted it.

"After all, Everard-san, DVD is perfect for adult movies – so much better than VHS," he said.

"Why?" I asked, aware that the players about to go on sale were £500 or more, while cheap and almost ubiquitous VHS machines would seem to offer a more attractive market for the pornsters.

"Simple," the consumer electronics bosu replied. "A-B repeat".

US: Deep DVD discounts to drive the latest blockbusters

Andrew Everard — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Faced with softening sales, studios are resorting to fast discounts on the latest DVD releases, with Warner Home Video working with US retailer Best Buy to make Watchmen available for just $9.99 (around £6.25) from this weekend.

That's just ten days after the title was released.

Reporting the move, trade publication Video Business says it follows similar promotions on Grand Torino, which was $10 in Target stores less than week after its release, and He's Just Not That Into You. Both are Warner titles.

Video Business quotes sources as saying that Warner offered $5 per disc rebates to some retailers to make the bargain pricing possible, but adds that "It’s not yet clear how Best Buy will be able to slash Watchmen to $9.99".

It also reports that this may impact on the availability of titles at smaller independent retailers, which feel they can't compete with the aggressive pricing so soon after initial release.

It notes that other studios have offered incentives to retailers on other titles, such as the second movie in the Madagascar franchise and Milk, but that these have happened some time after release date.

At the moment, Warner is alone in offering these rapid price-cuts on new release titles.

What you've been buying in 2009 - HD, headphones and vinyl defy the downturn

Clare Newsome — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:45:00 GMT

Early this year we brought you details of 2008's most popular home entertainment products, and now we've had our first update on 2009's most wanted. And it's a fascinating, myth-dispelling snapshot of the buying habits of recessionary Britain. So, what do you think sold more - headphones or Blu-ray players?

The consumer confidence index may still be low - as of June 2009, it was running at -25; though it has hit as low as -35 in the past year - and UK spend on consumer electronics is down a whopping 19 percent year-on-year, but hi-fi and home cinema purchases are holding up remarkably well. Britons have spent £1 billion on AV kit in the past year, and this sector of the CE market has fallen by a comparatively modest 4 percent.

The figures come from GfK, industy analysts that collate sales figures - including units sold, and at what price - from the UK's range of online and regular retailers. From supermarkets to specialist shops, they've got the data on what you're buying and how much you paid at checkout.

So, what's hot and what's not?

TVs continue to drive the home entertainment market, with flatscreen sales actually up 3 percent in the year to April 2009. That translates to a mighty 9.5 million sets sold from May 2008 to April 2009, with LCD increasing leading the way in terms of value and volume.

More of those TVs are being bought online, too: 15 percent of LCD sets are now sold over the internet and 13 percent of plasmas (for comparison, 11 percent of audio systems are now sold online, with only 5 percent of audio separates coming to your house via mouse).

LCD becoming the premium choice

As LCD TVs become available at larger screen sizes, they're overtaking plasma at the premium end of the market. LCD TVs now account for 60 percent of all sales of 40in+ sets, plus they're typically selling at a higher price point - plasma is becoming the big-screen value option; a situation that only looks likely to continue as Pioneer's premium-priced Kuros exit the market.

More surprisingly, less than 3m Full HD TVs have been sold to date - HD Ready sets are still the most popular purchase, though of course this lower resolution is the only option on smaller sets. It'll be interesting to see how the HD Ready/Full HD sales ratio changes in the light of the following figures...

Blu-ray growing faster than DVD did

There may have been some negative stories flying around about Blu-ray not taking off, but that's certainly not the case in the UK. More than 400,000 BD players (excluding Sony PS3) have been sold here in the past year, with sales growing month on month. Gfk predicts that figure will hit 750,000 by 2010.

Both this year's figure and next year's projection see Blu-ray player sales outstripping those of DVD in its early years - though that format's far from dead; 5m DVD units (players, recorders and portables) were sold in the past year.

In terms of value, £78m of Blu-ray players were sold in the past year - that compares to £57m in 2008. The average price paid has actually risen - from £189 in December 2008 to just shy of £200 by April 2009 - driven by the introduction of new-season models, such as Panasonic's DMP-BD60 (below).

Higher-end Blu-ray players are also selling well - models costing £400+ accounted for 8 percent of all BD hardware sales.

Unsurprisingly, with TV and Blu-ray faring so well, the market for HDMI cables is booming, too. More than £30m worth of HDMI cables have been sold in the past year - up from £23m in 2008 - and the average price paid is holding steady at @£30 per cable.

Multichannel receivers outsell stereo amps

Sales of AV receivers also continue to benefit from the high-definition boom, with £41m of multichannel amps and receivers sold in the past year. Contrast this to the market for stereo amplifiers, which has fallen to £25m over the past year.

Generally, however, the hi-fi separates market has stayed reasonably stable, at total value of @£200m. Turntables continue to grow, while CD players fall - though higher-end CD players, amps and speakers continue to fare surprisingly well, with the sub-£500 market worst hit. Wonder if the entrance of new models into the budget sector from Cambridge Audio, Marantz and more will change those figures come year-end?

Goodbye hi-fi, hello iPod dock?

While sales of separates stay fairly static at £200m, coming up fast are iPod speaker systems - up 64 percent year-on-year to a mighty £184m. The action isn't all at pocket-money prices, either: sales of £200+ products such as the B&W Zeppelin (pictured) have doubled to £47m.

Traditional audio systems - both hi-fi and home cinema - have seen sales fall, with the movie market particularly hit by the slow appearance of Blu-ray-based packages. Again, it's the cheaper end of the systems market where the decline has been worst - higher-end products, such as the Arcam Solo, continue to sell well. Still. systems remain a £300m market.

Let's ear it for headphones

One clear winner in this recessionary year is headphones - modern man's default treat purchase? The UK headphone market is now worth a staggering £91m - up from £84m in 2008. In-ear headphones account for more than half of all models sold (£53m, up from £49m), but the percentage rise in traditional hi-fi headphones sales is even higher - up to £20m from last year's £14m.

There's still a lot of 2009 to go, with some factors that could boost the market for certain products - several massive movie disc releases from September; the effect of the Digital Britain report on DAB radio sales; the digital switchover accelerating and the introduction of Freeview HD - and we'll continue to track what's setting the tills ringing...

- Additional research and reporting by Rachael Prasher -

Sundays are still Special in the world of hi-fi

Andrew Everard — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:17:00 GMT

If you've watched or listened to the news today, you may be aware of the modest hoo-hah that's been going on in the Scottish Highlands, where ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has just run its first Sunday service from Stornoway, on the island of Lewis, to Ullapool on the mainland.

Campaigners have been singing psalms on the quayside, and women have been seen crying as they called for respect for the fourth Commandment and a return to the previous status quo in that part of the world, where shops and other services remain closed on Sundays.

The Keep Sunday Special people are less than entirely chuffed by the new ferry service, while CalMac says not to run the services could put it in danger of a claim of discrimination under the 2006 Equality Act.

I was listening to the news of this squabble while driving into our local county town to pick up my wife, who was having her hair done this morning.

Took a while, as the streets were thronged with traffic hunting for a parking space, and the pavements full of shoppers laden down with carrier bags. Clearly here, at least, people were eager to spend.

There are three hi-fi shops in the place: one long-established independent, one part of a franchise chain, and the third a branch of Richer Sounds.

Guess which two remained closed and shuttered on one of the week's prime shopping days?

And which one was open and seemed to have a steady flow of shoppers in and out while I sat in the car waiting for madame's 'do to be finished?

Next time I hear a hi-fi retailer complaining that 'footfall is down', and what few customers there are are being hoovered up by the discount stores and the internet, I might just find myself tempted to suggest that actually being open when feet are around to fall might be a smart idea.

Probably a bit more useful than sticking to the old idea of opening weekdays only, maybe even with half-day closing one day a week, and expecting customers to take time off work to have a browse or a demonstration. All a bit 1950s, isn't it?

Unless, of course, the shop staff were all in church, or had driven up to the Highlands to protest about the evils of Sunday ferries – in which case I'd defend to the hilt their right to their religious beliefs, and take it all back...

Digital distribution by Crestron, Abramovich's new superyacht and why HDMI isn't the answer for whole-house HD

Andrew Everard — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:26:00 GMT

I've just spent a fascinating few hours at Crestron's UK HQ, just outside London, where I've been learning all about the problems created by HDMI when it comes to distributing high-definition content around the house.

Or Roman Abramovich's new boat.

The company was launching a range of new products, and took the opportunity to give us an overview of developments in the custom-install field. Which is how I came to learn about some of the foibles of HDMI, how to run HD audio and video all the way around a 170m superyacht, and why iPods are the new whole-house music server.

And why the demands of high-definition distributed entertainment mean the company has racked up the same sales in the last month, since launching its DigitalMedia solution, as it did in the whole of the previous year with conventional CAT5-based distribution systems.

Kicking off a fascinating presentation of the latest products, UK Residential Sales Manager Phil Solomons showed us the new iPod docks, available in both free-standing and in-wall designs.

Its Crestron-Mobile iPod Touch/iPhone app was launched earlier in the year, allowing complete control of a Crestron multiroom entertainment system from one of the little touchscreen devices, but Solomons explains there's more to their role than that.

iPod is the new server
Increasingly, the massive 'server under the stairs' is being replaced by iPods in custom installations, allowing local libraries of music to be played via the audio system in the room where they're docked, or accessed remotely across a whole-house system.

A simple push-button on the docks lets the iPod switch from local use to access anywhere, and you can also sync the player with any computer on the network running iTunes, just as if you had a direct USB connection between the two.

That's just one of the innovations in Crestron's latest line-up. For example, you can also buy a new remote handset able to control the complete system via wi-fi, while also doubling as an intercom/phone handset.

Intriguing, too, is that the handset operates on the 'slowest' 802.11a-type wi-fi, while also having b/g compatibility. Why so? Solomons explains that as home wi-fi has moved up from b to g and n versions, things have got a bit cluttered in those parts of the spectrum. So the Crestron handset runs 'a', where's there's not much else going on.

How to do HD distribution
It's all a matter of bandwidth, and that brings us on to the biggest problem of all in the modern custom-install arena – distributing HD video content, for example from Blu-ray Disc, around the home.

And it's bad news for those fortunate enough to have existing integrated home systems for audio and video: right now there simply isn't enough bandwidth on existing Cat5-based distribution to carry HD video and audio to multiple zones. So that means time for a re-cable.

HDMI: point-to-point, 7m max
The HDMI system makes things even trickier. As Solomons explains it, HDMI was only ever designed as system for transmitting content securely over relatively short distances, point to point. In other words, from a Blu-ray Disc player to a TV, for example, over cable runs of about 7m maximum.

Anything else, from switching in AV receivers to long runs to projectors, is a bonus – and things get even more complex when you start to factor in multiple sources and multiple destinations, as you'd have in a distributed entertainment system.

After all, improving video standards mean huge amounts of data need to be transmitted. 1080i requires 2.23 Gigabits per second, 1080p twice the bandwidth, and 1080p with Deep Color 6.68Gbps.

Not only are there the obvious problems of the image flashing, audio or video drop outs or simply no signal at all over long runs, you can also run into difficulties created by the flow of information between components linked by HDMI, not to mention the HDCP – High Definition Bandwidth Content Protection – built into the HDMI standard.

Too much protection?
For example, the HDCP system uses 40 56-bit keys to protect the content, and if those aren't resolved correctly in the handshake procedure, all you'll get down the line is a blank screen. And the same's true for the DisplayPort digital outputs increasingly being fitted to computer hardware.

What's more, the fact that HDMI requires this 'handshake' to occur every two seconds brings its own problems in a distributed system. Say you're watching a BD movie, and you decide to flick over to Sky HD for a moment or two to catch the sports news; when you switch back you'll find the BD player's HDMI signal has gone to sleep, as it hasn't received the handshake in a while, and will take several seconds to re-establish itself.

Crestron tackles this with switching systems enabling all the HDMI connections to be kept 'live' and handshaking at the same time, allowing instant switching between sources if required.

But there's more, as they say, in the form of the Image Constraint Token built into the Blu-ray Disc system, and the Extended Display Identification Data that's a part of the Display Data Channel carried between HDMI sources and displays.

Blu-ray's built-in time bomb
Solomons describes Blu-ray Disc's Image Constraint Token as the format's 'built-in time bomb'. If one tries to get round the deficiences of HDMI by taking an analogue video feed, for example using component video outputs, it's possible for an embedded flag in the software to tell the player to downgrade the picture quality on those outputs to standard definition.

Oh, and that EDID information on the DDC? This sets up the HDCP encryption between the source and destination device, but has a nasty trick up its sleeve in multisource, multiscreen systems: if you have multiple displays in use, the EDID – which determines the 'best fit' of audio and video for the displays – will always go for the lowest common denominator.

In other words, imagine you've splashed out on that megabucks home cinema, complete with serious projector, but also have the content streaming to a smaller HD-ready TV in the kitchen so you don't miss anything when you sneak out to top up the popcorn.

The EDID system will only allow the projector to receive the resolution of which the kitchen TV is capable.

And there's also the small matter of that Hot Plug Detect, with which downstream devices announce their presence to the source components. Turn on the kitchen TV, and the image resolution all round the home might change again!

Crestron 16x16 matrix switcher

Crestron has solutions for all these problems, including scalable switchers able to do everything from one source into two screens to 16 sources into 16 screens, and installers can use multiples of these units to run even more complex systems.

It can also integrate scaling to match signal to screens, and has input modules to allow legacy analogue video to be integrated into one digital distribution system.

It can even offer a box (left) able to take an HDMI input and deliver stereo sound, downmixed from the datastream, as you might want in a room where you have a display, but don't want the complete surround shebang. That kitchen again, for example.

By this point in the presentation my head was spinning with the sheer amount of useful information being delivered, and my note-taking getting ever more frantic, but we still had to address The Big Question.

If HDMI is only good for fairly short runs of cabling – too short even to do room-to-room in most homes – how do you do distributed HD entertainment in palatial piles with many rooms, not to mention superyachts?

Or "boats – but I really shouldn't call them that," as Solomons puts it.

Here's how it's done. The Crestron answer is really two answers, both part of its DigitalMedia solution.

The conventional cable (above) uses twisted pair cabling, with multiple cores carrying signal and control data: one bundle carries high-speed Ethernet and other data, plus 5V power; a dedicated bundle carries high-def audio and video, and a final set of conductors carries Crestron control signals and 24V power.

A single cable can carry the signal – supporting current and future HD audio and video standards – between the company's components, and do so over runs of about 50m, or well beyond the 10m maximum it sees as possible with HDMI.

However, step up to the company's CresFiber fibre-optic system (above), using a bundle of four glass fibres – two for current applications, and two more for future expansion – and it's possible to extend the runs up to 300m.

In fact, the company is working on 1km, making the system able to distribute HD entertainment around the largest of homes, not to mention the likes of conference venues and sports stadia.

The DigitalMedia system also allows sound and vision to be synchronised all round the home, so none of that nasty delayed audio just heard from the next room, or video out of whack: Solomons demonstrated this with the rig above, using two Pioneer screens linked via DM cable and transmitters/receivers to a single Blu-ray Disc player.

One uses a shortish run of cable, the other a long run, then a repeater, then another long run – equivalent to the far TV being at the other end of a reasonable-sized home. And yet both sound and vision are in perfect synchronisation, so fast is the data-transfer on the system.Perfect anything from a normal semi to the largest house.

Or indeed a superyacht, which brings us back to Roman Abramovich.

The Russian billionaire's recently-launched new toy, the Eclipse, is estimated to be 170m – or around 560ft – stem to stern, and has HD entertainment piped throughout.

Guess which company supplied the equipment?

JAPAN: Don't fear, the Repoch isn't that kind of video cassette recorder

Andrew Everard — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:02:00 GMT

On the way from Sanyo into the Japanese domestic market is the Repoch – a new digital video recorder. But no, despite that slot in the front, we're not going back to tape.

This is a hard-drive recorder – it's just that you can pull out the cassette-style drive and replace it with another.

That means the Repoch, or IVR-S100M to give it its official model designation, not only gives unlimited recording capacity, but will also allow users to take their favourite HD TV shows to another player elsewhere in the home, or even round to friends for playback.

This graphic – the Japanese are big on explanatory diagrams – shows how Sanyo sees buyers of the unit making use of the interchangeable hard drives: you could have different discs for different types of programming, or drop the drive into pocket or bag to cart it around.

The drives themselves conform to the iVDR format, launched by Hitachi back in 2002. Sanyo is only the second company to adopt the system, which uses 160GB removable discs., and says it's pushing to have the format adopted as an industry standard. It's already endorsed by Japan's Association of Radio Industries and Businesses.

Maxell makes the iVDR drives in 160GB and 250GB, while Hitachi launched some TVs with the system built-in on the Japanese market a couple of years back. Maxell also offers the iDVR drives as a professional product for use with pro cameras.

The Sanyo unit, which will sell in Japan for just over £400, is compact – about the size of an A5 sheet of paper at 23cm wide and 17cm deep – and just over 4cm tall. It can be used horizontally or vertically using a stand supplied.

It has inputs for the Japanese BS digital TV system, and both HDMI and analogue video outputs, along with a LAN port for internet connection.

A 160MB iVDR disc will give around 20 hours of recording of the Japanese 17Mbps Hi-Vision TV, and the unit can output in 1080i, 720p and 480p resolutions.

And the chances of us seeing such a device here in the UK? Somewhere just south of nil, I suspect...